Conceptual Artists of the Hobbit

Alan Lee from England and John Howe from Canada, the two illustrators of Peter Jackson's films based on the epic high fantasy novels by J. R. R. Tolkien

Comparing their paintings and sketchings, in my opinion, Alan Lee's are dull but more realistic and John Howe's are colorful but less detail. 

Designing the World of the Middle Earth

Put on your 3D glasses if you have any

Gandalf by John Howe

Frodo, Sam, and Gollum by Alan Lee

Smaug by Alan Lee

Smaug by John Howe

John Howe on the left side and Alan Lee on the right side also made a short appearance as two of the Kings of the Men who received one of the rings in the Fellowship of the Ring. Look at how each of them pose!

Science vs Art

I found this comic on Facebook and it made me laugh because I thought it was funny and cute at the same time. When I wanted to change my major from General Biological Sciences, I wanted to change it to something with art, so it was Digital Technology and Culture. It is the best of both worlds because without both science and art, we would not have technology and digital media and no mushi ->

So if you haven't yet, you should most definitely 'like' this page on Facebook. They post really random things but they're always interesting and entertaining. I took technology class in sixth grade and learned a lot of html codes. One of them was to set up an image to a link, so yeay, click on the picture below to check it out!

Page 2-10

_________________________Linear Networks__________________________

According to the textbook, cross-hatching is when multiple lines are placed at various angles to one another and produces a wide range of grays (Page 7).

Jacques Villon Baudelaire, c. 1918. Etching, printed in black, plate.

Michelangelo, Head of a Satyr, c. 1620-30. Pen and ink over chalk.

When I was younger in elementary school, I use to color by cross-hatching because it made the colors look even. In this textbook, however, cross-hatching is a way of using lines to contour. Lately, I've been trying to draw lines with single strokes instead of sketching because I think sketching makes my lines look like they're hairy.

Self Portrait with Photoshop

Many people have told me that I'm tiny and cute like a doll so that is why I drew myself as shown below and I even have the same outfit! The background is blue because it is my favorite color since the sky and the ocean is so relaxing and calming. I also think I literally do have a big head and a small body though...

The sun on the left and the moon on the right symbolizes my Chinese name, Ming Ming, which means bright. The water on the bottom and the glowy effect symbolizes my Vietnamese name, Thuy Linh, which I think it means water spirit but I'm not so sure even though I've always thought it was some type of flower.

Making Digital Art Easier!

Another technology that I think every digital artist should invest in is the Wacom Bamboo Tablet. I bought one last semester but I haven't had the chance to watch the tutorial yet. I've been so busy studying for organic chemistry and working. My goal for this semester is to learn how to use mine and develop my Adobe Photoshop skills!

After being nervous about changing to Digital Technology and Culture courses, I've met a few friendly classmates, Roman Lara, Olga Kutnyakova, Hannah Croskrey, and Nik Rex. I sit next to Nik in class and have seen him use his. As simple as he makes it seem, I would be so thankful if he could teach me!

An aspiring member of DeviantArt...

After Nik Rex's presentation on Wenqing Yan also known as Yuu Mei, I looked her up on Facebook and 'liked' her pages, Yuumei and Knite. These are my favorites:

These were her skeleton practices for class and the lower four poses were taken from Beyonce's Single Ladies. Do you recognize them? They made me laugh :D!

I love the way she can draw the backgrounds to look so realistic and so beautiful, especially this room in a Fisheye Lens view. I wish I could visit all these places :P!

This last self portrait :'( In Chinese, Baba, Wo Xiang Ni, it means, Dad, I miss you. After three long years, the US denied her father a visa for the eighth time. The man who paid for her expensive college education was denied the two weeks he wanted to spend with his daughter for her graduation and her birthday.

Ready? 1, 2, 3, say, "Cheese!"

Maybe some day, I will be able to afford an expensive DSLR camera like a Canon or a Nikon. For now, however, I am excited to save enough money to buy a Fujifilm Instax Mini camera. I think every one should also invest in one because who doesn't love vintage looking photos, right?

My older sister, Christina, bought one last year and I think it is one of the neatest way to capture the good moments. I love this Polaroid camera because the photos are wallet size and I love writing short notes at the bottom to make each photo special and memorable.

That is me on the left and her on the right. I didn't write anything on this one but it was last year in the learning center upstairs in the library at WSU. She tutors chemistry so if you ever need any help, then feel free to ask because she is has the smartest brain in the family!

Which reminds me of this pop up card that I made for her. No Face is a character from the Japanese animated fantasy film, Spirited Away, which was written by Hayao Miyazaki, who also wrote My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, and more!

I cut a line across the car so that she could switch who ever she wants to be driving the truck or riding in the trunk. The first one from left to right is myself, the second one is Christina, the third one is my friend, Heather Belts, and the last one is my sister's boyfriend, Aaron Paul.

How do you express yourself?

Art allows us to express ourselves in different ways whether it’s writing love notes, drawing stick figures, taking pictures, recording videos, singing our heart out, dancing in our underwear, modeling in front of the mirror, acting a funny joke, cooking a fancy dinner, the list goes on.

"Falling in love is easy. Growing from it is difficult. Appreciating a beautiful work of art is easy. Creating it is a fxcking nightmare." - Alex Ikeda: The Creation of a Song

Creative ideas often occurs when we are either sleeping at night, showering in the morning, driving on the road, or daydreaming in class. It takes imagination, time, and effort but also, I think one of the most important, it takes inspiration. That is why I also look forward to looking at everyone else's blogs!